Role of Civil Services in Democracy
The globalization of the society with the advancement in the information technologies has led to a dramatic change in the role of civil services. Their role is not restricted merely to maintenance of law and order and district administration. The problems of the 21st century are of complex nature which requires proactive participation from the bureaucracy and therefore it is necessary to view the role of civil services from an entirely different perspective. It has to play both the traditional roles which it had been playing since its inception as well as the contemporary roles which are the need of the hour.
Traditional Roles
The traditional role played by civil services includes policy formulation as well as policy implementation. The elected representatives who represent the needs & requirements of the society form the policies with technical support of the civil servants who help them to fulfill the needs of the society.
As a Collector
The civil servants perform the function of collecting the revenue and maintenance of law and order. As a collector a civil servant performs the following functions:
- Land assessment
- Land acquisition
- Collection of land revenue
- Collections of income tax dues, excise duties, irrigation dues, etc
- Distribution of agricultural loans
As a District Magistrate
As a district magistrate a civil servant performs the following functions:
- Maintenance of law and order
- Supervision of the police and jails
- Supervision of subordinate executive magistracy
- Hearing cases under the preventive section of the criminal procedure code
- Supervision of jails and certification of execution of capital sentences
As a Coordinator for all the agencies in the district
A civil servant acts as the coordinating point for all the agencies at the district level. Also their office acts as the main coordinating hub between the state and the district.
As a Crisis Administrator
A civil servant may be looked upon as a savior in case any crisis happens. His strength, leadership and performance play a significant role in such a situation. It is during the crisis that the effectiveness and credibility of the district system is put to test and their energies are transformed into awakened and vibrant consciousness. As a crisis administrator he ensures his job is to ensure the disaster management during natural calamities such as floods, famines or epidemics, etc.
As a Development Officer
The development officer better known as the collector is handed over the role of development planning in the region where he is posted. In context of India, rural development was an essential precondition for the establishment of a welfare state. Several programs for the benefit of the downtrodden began with the Community Development programs in 1952.
In the task of economic development, the role of the collector is not that of an advisor or observer alone. The emphasis is on his leadership role in the extension and development activity. The collector with the assistance of the district level staff is responsible for the implementation of various development schemes. Thus, revenue collection is less important compared to development functions performed by the collector.
Contemporary Roles
More than the traditional roles, it is the contemporary role that demands greater attention of the civil services. Following are the contemporary roles the civil services need to focus on for smooth functioning of the society and the democracy in whole.
National Integration
Today maintaining the national integration and security has become a major challenge as the various extremists and separatist forces are a constant threat to it. A democracy consists of diverse and multi-culture people and this leads to the need to ensure that the unity in diversity is maintained. The civil services have to play an effective role in fostering an environment of tolerance and cooperation among the different sections of society. Cases of the suppression of minorities, voices demanding separation and hate speeches to mobilize people for communal rights have increased and this calls for stringent measures to curb such cases.
As a change agent for the society
In this age of ever increasing globalization and decentralization, the civil servants have become the agents of change, good governance and development administration at the very base of our democratic structure. Government attention has shifted from providing physical and human infrastructure enabling individual players to compete in the global markets. The objective of welfare administrate” has also shifted from welfare maximization to people empowerment. At the district level, DC expected to act as a facilitator in the developmental process rather than being a director a regulator as was during the previous regime.
For the process of globalization to be successful, it has to be inclusive. This will mean every section of society must be able to benefit from the process of reform. It requires immediate attention to issues of agriculture, rural development, health, education, infrastructure, focusing in particular, on the weaker sections and ensuring of communal harmony at all costs. Civil servants with their modern approach and attitude can reduce the influence of intermediaries between local producers and consumers and the international market through the use of computers and internet.
As a whistle blower
The civil servants need to act as the whistle blower against the malpractices and malfunctions in the administrative system which has become the accepted norms now. It is morally and ethically permissible for them to promote transparency and accountability into the system to remove corruption and all forms of malpractices.
Conclusion
Right from the ancient ages, the civil services played an important role in the Indian governance system but the modern history of Indian Civil Services starts from the British rule in India. Over the years their roles have changed drastically though they still perform the traditional roles given to them. The rate at which our economy is growing has led to a manifold increase in the quantum of work of the civil services. Performance expectations have increased in terms of both speed and quality. The Government is no longer seen merely as a law enforcer or a controller of national resources. Now people expect the government o ensure growth, development and smooth functioning of the economy. Globalisation has simply meant addition of various dimensions to the concept of governance and accordingly the civil servants have to be prepared to face the challenges arising out of globalization.
